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I have lot of friends who – openly or secretly, but – hate Valentine’s day. On my negative days I can totally understand them. This day of the year can be a burden for not only singles, but for those who live in a relationship […]

When I realized how hungry I was a few hours ago, it was already too late to order something (because waiting another hour could have killed me) or go and get some fresh ingredients from the store nearby (those few hundred meters were too far). […]

You can be anything they said. Sure, but sooner or later you have to choose a path, a goal, a career or a life purpose – doesn’t matter what you call it and this decision is one of the hardest puzzles in life. Choosing whatever […]

Recent Posts

Even though I love cooking and baking, when it comes to ‘everyday recipes’, I often prefer those which are really short a pretty quick. If you feel the same, you’ll love these delicious gluten-free and vegan walnut bites, because they fulfill every busy woman’s needs: […]

I’m always incredibly pleased when I can find a really good breakfast alternative. Because despite of the fact that I truly love eating gluten-free oatmeal, crispy waffles or my gluten-free and vegan buns, but the truth is that I get too easily bored when it comes to flavors […]

Crispy, gluten-free and vegan waffle recipe? Yes, it’s possible!

I’ve always been a huge fan of waffles, so it was out of question to exclude the gluten-free and vegan version from my recipe to-do list (or my life). I really enjoyed the journey from the first soggy, waffle-ish cookies to these healthy, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside waffles. It was a long trial and error process, but totally worth it. And besides we got to eat so many waffles we could, for breakfast, lunch and dinner too – a childhood dream came true! 🙂

These waffles are high-fiber, low in carbohydrates, they don’t contain saturated fats, gluten, dairy products, eggs, corn or sugar. I think this is the recipe which could pretty much work for any party: easy to make, fitting for all – adults and/or children – and perfect for people with food sensitivities or PCOS/insulin resistance.

About the ascorbic acid

Many of you wondered why I use ascorbic acid (alias vitamin C) in my recipes, so it felt right to write about this a bit more. First of all it’s because of the baking soda I use when baking. It needs acid for activation, and there are lots of alternatives one can choose from: a few drops of lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and much more – and I use ascorbic acid, because we have a huge stash of it here at home. My other reason is the following: I researched a bit and found out that ascorbic acid is a great ‘flour improver’ when it comes to baking, the end result will be softer and the dough will rise faster.

So it’s not an obligatory ingredient, you can easily replace it with apple cider vinegar or other alternatives, but it’s also worth give it a try. 😉

The recipe

Let’s jump to the recipe straight ahead.

Ingredients

200 ml (6,8 fl oz) sparkling water

300 ml (10,1 fl oz) almond milk

4 tbsp olive oil

1 g (0,04 oz) ascorbic acid or 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp salt

0,5 tsp baking soda

1 flax egg (1 tbsp flaxseed meal + 3 tbsp water)

50 g (1,8 oz) brown rice flour

150 g (5,3 oz) buckwheat flour

100 g (3,5 oz) millet flour

100 g (3,5 oz) almond flour

Instructions

Mix every ingredient in a huge bowl, stir until smooth and set aside for 5 minutes.

Preheat waffle iron in the meantime.

Grease the iron with olive oil (this needs to be done only before the first waffle, for the second it was no longer necessary).

Pour a heaping cup batter into the center of the iron and bake appr. 7-8 minutes or until it’s golden and crisp.

Notes

If you don’t have to count carbohydrates, it’s okay to use buckwheat flour only.

This gluten-free, vegan and whole grain buns recipe is the quickest and easiest one you can imagine. No need to spend hours in the kitchen or pray for the dough to rise, because these beauties don’t require special treatment. You’ll only need 10 minutes to […]

I spent some time in Sweden a few years ago and cinnamon rolls made a glorious debut in my life. I wasn’t surprised at all when I found out that they even have a Cinnamon Roll Day which is celebrated in October. (Now some of you can understand why I’m in love with that country.)

But time went by and I had to change my lifestyle. I’m not gonna tell you how much I suffered from withdrawals while I couldn’t eat cinnamon rolls because I haven’t found the perfect recipe. Because it would be boring – at least for you. But luckily now I have a recipe which I’m satisfied with (and I only had to eat terrible, monster-like cinnamon rolls 5 times before I succeeded with this one).

So here are the facts:

these are simply delicious – I’m not bragging

these cinnamon rolls are gluten-free, milk-free, egg-free, sugar-free and corn-free

it’s easy to prepare them

they contain lots of dietary fiber and protein, so you can eat them even if you want to lose weight

you can choose whatever filling you want

And here comes the recipe too:

For the dough

1 cup coconut milk

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp active dry yeast

1/4 cup (olive) oil

1 flax egg (1 tbsp flaxseed meal plus 3 tbsp water)

36 g psyllium husk

1 tbsp apple puree

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup sweetener (I used xylitol)

60 g tapioca flour

60 g brown rice flour

100 g millet flour

140 g buckwheat flour

For the filling

0.5 cup xylitol (or other sweetener)

cinnamon

100 g coconut fat

1 tbsp sugar-free plum jam

Instructions

In a large bowl mix the lukewarm coconut milk and the yeast, add the sugar and let it activate for 10 minutes.

In the meantime you can prepare the flax egg: stir the flaxseed meal and the water until the mixture gets a lot thicker.

You can now add in the oil and the psyllium to the coconut milk. Stir and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Mix the dry ingredients in a different bowl.

When you are done, add the apple puree and the flax egg to the wet mixture, eventually the dry ingredients too, stirring as you go. Knead a minute until it forms a slightly wet ball.

Now it’s time to let the dough rise, give it 40 minutes. You can prepare the filling in the meantime by combining its ingredients.

Knead again, then on a floured surface you’ll be able to roll out the dough easily into a thin rectangle.

Dump the filling on the top of the dough. Tightly roll it up, then cut into thin pieces which you can put into a greased pan of your choice.

Now set aside for another 30 minutes and allow it to rise in a warm place while you preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 F). Or put it in the fridge to rest for 12 hours if you don’t have time to bake at the moment.

Bake for 20-25 minutes and enjoy when it’s done.

Notes

You can use whatever filling you like: chocolate, cocoa, pizza-flavoured, because why not 😉

Post of the month

Last year I did not make a list. It seemed like the right thing to do, because I could never keep the promises I made for myself and therefore every year started and ended with a glimpse of disappointment. I failed again. Not a great mindset to start a new phase with, isn’t it?

But I missed the wonderful feeling of a fresh start. While I’m making plans for the future, plans about becoming a better person, I can sense energy running through my veins. So this year I decided to think out of the box so I can make a list of New Year’s resolution that really fits me and my life situation.

Reflect

The first step was to take a look at the previous year and try to find an honest answer for the following questions:

What am I grateful for?

Which bad things turned out to be good in the end?

What am I proud of?

Wow! Look at your answers and enjoy the moment of success. You had quite a year, didn’t you?

By answering these question each of us can find the „hidden treasures” of last year. This helps us to focus on the goals which really matter and on the bright side of life, because think about it: you are not a failure! You just made a list of amazing things from last year and a list of your achievements. You already did it – sometimes without realizing it! Nobody can stop you from being amazing this year as well.

Picture

How do you picture yourself in 10 years? You are slim, healthy and happy, right? Wiser from all of the courses you wanted to take – or something like that.

How does you look like one year from now? Hmmm… Slim, healthy and happy. Maybe you want the same thing – and you want to reach it in 12 months. We tend to be impatient with ourselves and try to accomplish all at once despite of the fact that we know our limits. The lesson I learned from this: be realistic, even when you are dreaming. And make a realistic, detailed plan.

celebrating a fresh start

Plan

First of all: define and test your goals. For example let us imagine you want to have a bright career. Is it something you can achieve during this year? Not likely. But you can take the first steps toward it, you just need to specify these steps and determine which one of these you want and can carry out this year. Take that course, quit that boring job – and be proud of yourself!

The second rule is: take it slow. Literally. This way the new behavior will become a habit easily, without suffering. Take baby steps and you will reach you goal.

Detail

To have a month by month calendar for your goals and steps helps you track your results. Go into detail – as exhaustively as you can. This way you can see the small victories and at the end of the year you won’t be able to say „I failed”, you can say „I accomplished 70%” instead. Much better, right?

I made the following schedule for myself – in order to become more active:

January

New:

Take a quick walk after lunch or in the afternoon break

Pilates or yoga workout, 2×20 minutes a week

Maintain:

Bike to work when possible

February

New:

Pilates or yoga workout, 3×20 minutes a week

Maintain:

Bike to work when possible

Take a quick walk after lunch or in the afternoon break

March

New:

Pilates or yoga workout, 3×30 minutes a week

Maintain:

Bike to work when possible

Take a quick walk after lunch or in the afternoon break

April

New:

Pilates or yoga workout, 2×30 minutes a week

TRX workout, 1×50 minutes a week

Maintain:

The usual

May

New:

Pilates or yoga workout, 3×40 minutes a week

Maintain:

Bike to work when possible

Take a quick walk after lunch or in the afternoon break

TRX workout, 1×50 minutes a week

June

New:

Swimming, 1×50 minutes a week

Maintain:

Bike to work when possible

Take a quick walk after lunch or in the afternoon break

TRX workout, 1×50 minutes a week

Pilates or yoga workout, 2×40 minutes a week

At the end of June I will make a new plan for the second part of the year – based on my achievements. The planning procedure itself was already absolutely motivating, so grab a pen, experience the same exitement and start to work on improving your life 😉